3 Responses to Rabbis For Israel

I agree with everything in your mission statement and even more so with your advocacy statement and yet I find myself unable to sign on. I think that without addressing the need to encourage Israel to cease the growth of its settlements, without referencing the need for Israel to put into practice the principle of equality and equal treatment of its Palestinian Arab citizens that is enshrined in Israel’s declaration of independence, and by taking a position on the Palestinian “right of return” instead of allowing Israel and the Palestinians to negotiate a resolution of that issue, Rabbis for Israel comes across as more right than centrist. Does that make me a supporter of J Street? Not at all, but it leaves me yearning for a political home that says yes to all you advocate and yes to speaking out on the justice issues that Israel must address.

The settlement issue is a big one. What constitutes a settlement? Certain areas will remain under Israeli control in almost any conceivable peace agreement short of one simply demanding the 1967 borders entire. Other areas will not. In settlements in the latter areas, Israel has not approved new construction. In fact, Israel has actually dismantled homes and other buildings constructed in those areas without approval by the Israeli government. There are many places where building continues against Israeli law and for which court battles are underway.

Think about this for a moment. If a home were built without a permit and a family of ten took residence in it. Let’s say the government inspector issued a call to remove the residence. How long would it take the legal case to move through the US judicial system before an order to destroy the residence was issued and how long after that before it was actually done? The answer is years and likely not one or two. Activists expect Israel to violate its own laws and legal processes in order to remove illegally (by Israeli law) constructed homes. It cannot do that.

Palestinian citizens of Israel have more rights than do almost any of other minority population in any other democratic nation in the world.

As for right of return of Palestinians to Israel, it is an absurdity. The only real option is restitution. The reality is that even the PA can’t take in more than a small fraction of the refugees. The vast majority will need to be compensated through restitution.

What I’m finding more and more Anson, is that the left considers itself center. Some of our positions are indeed center-right. Some are center-left. Most are center.